Section YAE.09.14 — Enforcement Of Child Support Orders

(a) Agency Responsibilities. The Agency shall:

(1) Track and document the progress of a party who is under an enforcement action.

(2) Take additional enforcement action when a party fails to comply with a previous enforcement action.

(3) Document the reasons why an enforcement action is not taken, when such action would have been appropriate under the circumstances.

(4) Refund amounts that were improperly withheld, when possible, terminate wage withholding when appropriate and allocate amounts across multiple cases.

(b) Income Withholding.

(1) Following the issuance of an order for child support by the Tribal Court, the Tribal Child Support Agency shall issue a Federal Notice of Income Withholding and submit the Notice to the employer or other source of income of the payor.

(2) If the Tribal Court may find there is good cause to not issue an automatic income withholding order and if the parties agree in writing to not have automatic withholding, the Tribal Child Support Agency shall not issue a Notice of Income Withholding pursuant to Section YAE.09.14(b)(1) above. However, if the payor becomes delinquent in an amount equal to one month of child support, the Tribal Child Support Agency must issue a Notice of Income Withholding and submit to the employer or other source of income.

(3) Income Withholding Orders shall indicate the amounts to withhold and any additional amounts to repay any arrearages pursuant to the terms of the Order. The employer must submit all amounts withheld to the State Disbursement Unit no later than five (5) days following the date of withholding from the income. If the source of income is per capita of the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe, the Tribal Child Support Agency shall provide the Treasurer with an income withholding form no later than forty-five (45) days prior to the scheduled release of the per capita payment.

(4) Foreign Income Withholding Orders. All withholding orders submitted from other jurisdictions shall be sent to the Child Support Agency for review and verification of enrollment, employment. The Agency shall send notice to the payor that this order has been received and forwarded for enforcement. Included in the notice shall be the right of the payor to object in writing to the enforcement within twenty (20) days of the notice. The only allowable objection to the recognition and enforcement of the income withholding order is a mistake of fact (error in the amount of current support or arrears) or a mistake of identity of the payor. (See Definition Section for "disposable income").

(5) The maximum amounts allowed to be withheld from any source of income shall be no more than fifty percent (50%) of the payor's disposable income available for child support.

(6) If the employer fails to withhold income in accordance with the terms contained in the Notice of Income Withholding, the employer will be liable for all amounts that should have been withheld from the payor.

(7) An employer may not discharge, refuse to employ or take disciplinary action against a payor based on the issuance of the income withholding notice. Should an employer take such action they will be subject of a contempt finding.

The Tribal Child Support Agency shall promptly terminate an income withholding order and provide the employer or other source of income a Notice of Income Withholding Termination notice when there is no current child support order and all arrearages have been satisfied.

(8) If income withholding is inapplicable, ineffective or insufficient to ensure payment of child support, other administrative enforcement actions may be utilized; including suspension, revocation or denial of tribal privileges such as loans and tribally issued permits or licenses, and other enforcement actions as more fully set forth below.

(c) Other Authorized Administrative Enforcement Actions. In the event that a payor is at least one (1) month delinquent in paying his or her child support obligation, he or she may, with notice, be subject to the following enforcement actions:

(1) increase in amount of wages withheld;

(2) placement on state and tribal lien docket;

(3) credit bureau reporting and reporting to the tribal loan department;

(4) intercept of income and/or other payments, including, to the extent possible, both federal and state income tax returns;

(5) seizure of personal property;

(6) suspension, revocation and or denial of state and tribally issued licenses and or permits;

(7) denial of passport;

(8) denial of loans;

(9) referral for criminal charges;

(10) any other enforcement action included in this law or in a rule established under this law.

(d) Tribal Court Enforcement Action. If the Agency does not have the authority to conduct the appropriate enforcement action, or the payor is unresponsive to the enforcement actions being imposed by the Agency, the case shall be referred to the Tribal Court for enforcement. The Court may order any of the enforcement actions the Agency is authorized to implement. In addition, the Court may order the following to enforce a child support order:

(1) Bonds and Other Guarantees. The Court may require a payor to provide a surety, bond or guarantee to secure the payment of arrears, if wage withholding is not applicable, practical or feasible to secure payment of arrears.

(2) Claims Against Estates.

(A) The Court may approve a claim for past and future support against a payor's estate.

(B) The Court may issue a restraining order against an estate from which a payor will inherit.

(3) The Court may order a payor to perform community service. The number of hours of work required may not exceed what would be reasonable considering the amount of arrears the payor owes. The payor shall be provided a written statement of the terms of the community service order and that the community service order is monitored. The order shall specify:

(A) how many hours of community service the payor is required to complete;

(B) the time frame in which the hours must be completed;

(D) any other information the Court determines is relevant.

(E) and that community service may not be interpreted or used in any way as an in-kind satisfaction of a child support or arrearages obligation.

(4) A payor who disobeys a lawful child support order shall be subject to punishment for contempt of court.

(A) A payor found in contempt of court may be subject to any of the civil enforcement remedies available to the court including civil forfeitures.

(B) The payor may be fined in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per act of contempt.

(D) In the event that the Tribe has entered into an agreement for jail services, as a last resort, the Court may consider a jail sentence.

(E) The Court in its order may offer purge conditions to the contempt order provided the purge conditions have a timeframe not to exceed thirty (30) days unless otherwise agreed to by all parties.

(e) Due Process and Requests for Court Hearings in Enforcement Actions. The Agency shall provide due process prior to taking enforcement actions. Due process at a minimum shall include an initial written notice and a final notice. The Agency shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are needed in order to enforce this provision.

(f) Objections to Enforcement Actions Limited. The only allowable objection for which a hearing may be requested is for "mistake of fact." The individual may allege for example that the amount of arrears is a mistake or that there has been a mistake of identity.